Lecture 1Bio Ecology

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Course Introduction / Intro to BiologyAlexander J. Coverdill, PhD

January 15, 2013

Biology 201: Ecology and Evolution

Spring 2013


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Biology 201 Course Syllabus


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2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Your BI201 Teaching Team

Instructor: Dr. Alex Coverdill ([email protected])Office: Higgins 425

Office Hours: Tuesdays 2:00 pm 4:00 pm

Note: Im typically only on campus T/Th!

Graduate TA: Linh Ta ([email protected])Office: Higgins 507

Office Hours: TBA

Undergrad TA: TBD


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Course Materials

Required:

Biological Science, Scott Freeman, 4thedition, Vol. 2, 2010 (hardcover or eBook)

iClickerclassroom response systemhandheld unit

Access to Mastering Biology, an onlineassignment resource manager

Optional: Biological Science Study Guide, Scott

Freeman, 4th edition, 2010


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Course Website (BlackBoard Vista)

http://cms.bc.edu OR through your Agora portal

Syllabus (with our contact information) Lecture Slides Office Hour SchedulesAdditional Readings Link to Mastering Biology site (MB) Registration of iClicker


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My Course Learning Goals

To continue your development of the foundational knowledge ofbiology that you can apply to:

Upper division courses in biology(Evolution, Developmental Biology, Ecology, Plant Biology, Physiology)

A range of potential careers in biology Understanding/Responding to current challenges faced

as a society

To promote learning and study skills that will be beneficial foryou beyond this course, including the skill of developing a

learning network.


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Additional Incentives for Active Participation

Grading Summary (600 points total): Midterm Exams (3 exams, 100 pts each) 300 pts Final Exam (100pts new, 100pts cumulative) 200 pts Mastering Biology Assignments 70 pts iClickers/Attendance 30 pts Total: 600 pts*Students requiring accommodations, please have the appropriate office

contact Dr. Coverdill this week or bring your paperwork to me.


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***Please take note of exam dates NOW you will not be***

able to reschedule exams to better fit your plans!


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How do I know what information is important?

What do I need to know to get an A? What can I do to do better on the nexttest? How come I study as hard/much as I can, but I dont do

as well as Id like?

At some point, Im betting youll wonder:


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Mastering Biology

Purpose: To challenge you to apply concepts as a PRACTICEbefore exams = Formative assessment

A key component of learning:

Knowing when you know something

and knowing when you dont.

getting a grade:^

Also knowing how to access information that youve learned!


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Mastering Biology

Course ID: BI201COVERDILL2013

Student ID: BC Username (BBVista Username)

MB Tutorial: Due next Friday, Jan 25th at 5pm!


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Predict an outcome

Design an experiment

Create a Model

Critique a research proposal

Appraise data in support of a hypothesis

Edgar Dale Cone of Experience Media by Jeffrey Anderson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License


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One of my course goals:

An active learning course is one where students areactively engaged in learning the material (both inside and

outside of the classroom).

This is, in part, your responsibility as well!

Discover whichnote-taking

strategy worksbest for YOU!

Create an Active Learning Course Environment


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The iClicker Response Device

Well use iClickers for responses to:

In-class discussions Problem solving sessions Quizzes

Individual responses collected and scored.

Some responses will be graded, otherssimply recorded for participation

Benefit: You and I will find out what you knowimmediately!

No Fault Attendance Policy

(Warning: Use of another students iClicker is fraud) SeeAcademic Honesty section of syllabus for more info.


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Coming to class Taking notes Reading book Highlighting text in book Giving written answers to problems Copying class notes to flash cards ASK QUESTIONS!

In addition to traditional methods participation in the course

How to Succeed in Biology

you will also work with other students in (and outside) ofclass to:

Discuss problems youve solved on your own. Explain concepts to one another


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Miscellaneous Course Policies

Lecture attendance is mandatory. No make-up exams will be given. You must take the final exam in order to pass the class. You must obtain any information that was missed due to

absence from a fellow classmate.

You are expected to be an active participant in lecture. The assigned readings should be completed prior to the

corresponding lectures.

No points will be given for Mastering Biology assignmentscompleted after specified deadlines.

You may not use a fellow students iClicker. Ever. Cell phones must be silenced and put away during the

lecture.

Use of laptops during class is permitted; however


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Avoid Distractions! Youre responsible for your grade!


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Learning Objectives for Chapter 1:

Chapter 1

Distinguish a theory from a hypothesis Name five fundamental characteristics shared by all living

organisms.

Describe the two components of the cell theory. Briefly explain the theory of natural selection, and explain under

what conditions natural selection will happen (e.g., Must the

variation be heritable?).

Read a phylogenetic tree, and understand the role ofsimilarities and differences in constructing phylogenetic trees.

Describe what biologists do, that is, how they approachproblems and why they do experiments.

List the components of experimental design Predict consequences of changes in experimental components


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What does it mean to say something is alive?


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What do all life forms have in common?

All living organisms share 5 fundamental characteristics:

1. Energy: to stay alive and reproduce, organisms must acquireand use energy

2. Cells: organisms are made up of membrane-bound units calledcells

3. Information: organisms process hereditary or genetic

information, encoded in units called genes along with

information from the environment

4. Replication: everything an organism does is with the goal of

reproduction. This is the ultimate measure of an organismsfitness.

5. Evolution: organisms are the product of evolution and theirpopulations continue to evolve.


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Some Facts about Theories

A THEORY is an explanation for a very general class of

phenomena or observations.

Theories have two components:

Pattern Something that occurs in the natural world

Process Responsible for creating the pattern

Two theories form the framework for modern biological science.1. The cell theory

2. The theory of evolution by natural selection


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ORGANISM

(=PHENOTYPE)

GENOME

ENVIRONMENT

Gene / Gene Product

Gene network

Genome

Organelle / Subcellular compartment

Cell

Organ

Organism

Population

Ecosystem

Biosphere

Tissues

Cell

The Biological Hierarchy

Minimal Unit of LIFE!

Where does begin?


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... I could

exceedingly plainly

perceive it to be all

perforated and

porous, much like a

Honeycomb...these

pores or cells, were

not very deep, but

consisted of a greatmany little boxes...!-Robert Hooke 1665!

Visualizing Cells


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1.

All organisms are made of cells. Cells are the universal, irreducible unit of life whether you

are a single celled bacterium or a Sequoia tree.

The smallest organisms consist of single cells. The largestorganisms consist of many trillions of cells.

The Cell Theory

Unicellular Paramecium Multicellular Blue Whale

Multicellular Giant Sequoia


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2.

All cells come from pre-existing cells. Life begets life no spontaneous generation Cell division is the basis of organismal reproduction. Cell division is the basis of organismal growth & repair. Even viruses require the cells of their hosts for replication.

The Cell Theory


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The Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection

In 1858, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace made twoclaims regarding the natural world:

1. All species are related by common ancestry(pattern).

2.

Characteristics of species are modified from generation togeneration (pattern).

Descent with modification (process) Evolution is a change in the characteristics of a population

over time, where a population is defined as a group ofindividuals of the same species living in the same area at the

same time.


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There is no exception to the rule that every organic beingnaturally increases at so high a rate, that, if not destroyed

the earth would soon be covered by the progeny of a

single pair...the geometrical tendency to increase must be

checked by destruction at some period of life.

Origin of Species (1859)

In 1859, Charles Darwin published the book On theOrigin of Species by Means of Natural Selection

Evolution explains the unity and diversity of life


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The Tree of Life

The cell theory and the theory of evolution by natural selectionimply that all species come from preexisting species and that allspecies, past and present, trace their ancestry back to a single

common ancestororLUCA.

The tree of life is a family tree of organisms that describes thegenealogical relationships among species with a single ancestralspecies at its base.

Speciation is a divergence process in which natural selection hascaused populations of one species to diverge to form new

species.

Phylogeny is the actual genealogical relationships among allorganisms.


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Using Molecules to Understand the Tree of Life

Carl Woese and colleagues studied small subunit ribosomal RNA(rRNA)

Remember: RNA is comprised of four chemical units callednucleotides.

Symbolized by letters A, U, C, & G The sequence of nucleotides can change during evolution. Based on the theory of evolution, rRNA sequences should be very

similar in closely related organisms but less similar in less closelyrelated organisms.


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Interpreting the Tree of Life and Taxonomy

The tree of life indicates three majorgroups of organisms: the eukaryotes Eukarya and two groups ofprokaryotes Bacteriaand Archaea.

Fungi and animals are more closelyrelated to each other than either is to

plants.

Traditional classification schemes wereoften inaccurate.

The location of certain branches on thetree is hotly debated and the shape ofthe tree will continue to change asdatabases expand.

See Bioskills 3 for help readingphylogenies


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Merriam Webster Dictionary, Online

Scientific Method n.

Principles and procedures for the systematic pursuit of

knowledge involving the recognition and formulation of aproblem, the collection of data through observation and

experiment, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses

!

How do scientists study the natural world?

What is the Scientific Method?

Methodical exploration!

What makes science unique!


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Observations

Question

Hypothesis

Predictions

Experiment

Data Analysis

ConclusionSupport Reject

Report Results

The ScientificMethod


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Using the Scientific Method

Hypothesis testing can be divided into a two-step process:

1. State the hypothesis as precisely as possible and listthe predictions it makes.

2. Design an observational or experimental study that iscapable of testing those predictions.

Observation:Giraffes have very long necks!

Why?


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Why Do Giraffes Have Long Necks?

The food competition hypothesis argues that long necksevolved because animals with long necks can reach foodunavailable to other mammals.

Predictions:Neck length is variable.

Neck length is heritable.

Giraffes feed high in trees.

Conclusion:It is unlikely that giraffes evolved

long necks to be able to reach food

higher than other mammals.

Results: Simmons and Scheepers


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The Sexual Competition Hypothesis

An alternative hypothesis, the sexual competitionhypothesis, is that giraffes evolved long necks becauselonger-necked males win more fights than shorter-necked

giraffes, and can then father more offspring.

Data support this hypothesis.

Documents

Lecture 1Bio Ecology